


Lake Dance

by WitchWithWifi



Series: Crazy or Impressive [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Max is his favorite kid okay, Steve being a total dad, Tooth Rotting Fluff, the lumax is offscreen but I promise I ship it, they're besties, they're literally just dress shopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 22:36:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13511184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitchWithWifi/pseuds/WitchWithWifi
Summary: Lucas invites Max to the Lake Dance. Max and Steve go shopping. Fluff ensues.





	Lake Dance

**Author's Note:**

> SO this was originally supposed to be a part of the Crazy or Impressive fic, but then I got my timeline messed up, so it ended up as an independent fic. This happens some time after Chapter 10 in Crazy or Impressive. Enjoy!

The bonus of graduating in May was that Steve was out before any of the other kids, including Nancy and Jonathan, meaning he had plenty of time to do… nothing. When he wasn’t working, he found himself powering through his to-do list, ending up with reading a book, or going for a run to stave off the boredom.

The downfall of graduating in May was that Steve forgot there were _always_ activities schools planned to keep the kids in school for that last, unbearably long week before vacation began. Max had to be dragged out of bed most mornings.

So, he was confused, but not surprised when three of the kids burst into the house one day, flyers in hand, and the words, “Lake dance” on their lips.

“Lake dance what?” Steve asked, as Dustin breezed past him, going straight for the fridge, completely at home.

“The school’s having an end of year dance thing.” Will explained, reaching for the carrot stick Dustin was offering him. “Because the Snow Ball isn’t painful enough.”

“Yikes.” Steve made a sympathetic face. “Well, if you little dudes- and dudettes, sorry Max,” The redhead stuck her tongue out at him. “Need a ride, you know who to call.”

“Yep, Tommy H.” Dustin said, completely deadpan. Steve flicked him in the forehead. “Kidding! Thanks, Steve. You’re the coolest.” The other two echoed the sentiment, though neither looked too excited about the prospect of another dance.

“Oh, stop, you flatter me.” He pressed a hand to his heart. His eyes flicked to the clock on the wall, and he swore suddenly, grabbing his keys. “I’m gonna be late, I have a shift. I’ll be off at nine. Do your homework, don’t burn the house down, and there’s leftovers in the fridge. Later, losers!”

—-

Max was still up when he got home. She was in bed, reading a book when he tapped on her door, sticking his head in. “Little red, still up?”

“You know I hate that name.”

“Which is why I use it.” He grinned cheekily, stepping in. Max rolled her eyes. “Sorry I had to dash, were the leftovers okay? What did I miss?”

“Nothing, _Mom_ ,” Max teased. “Will showed Dustin his plans for the next campaign, Dustin showed Will his newest comic books, and I showed them that they’re both total nerds.” They both snickered at that. “And the leftovers were great. Since it was just pasta.”

“It’s damn good pasta. We made that damn good pasta.”

“That’s just how we roll.” They exchanged a high five and small smirks.

Steve turned to leave, but caught sight of the flyer on the bureau. “Ooh, the lake dance!” He waved the flyer in the girl’s direction. “You going?”

Max rolled her eyes. “Lucas is probably gonna ask me. Ugh, I’m going to have to dress up and do make up and all of that other stupid, girly shit.”

Now, Steve wasn’t nearly as good as Jonathan at reading people. He didn’t claim to be. But even he could tell Max was fronting. “You don’t _have_ to dress up and all that girly shit. Not if you don’t want to. Even if Lucas asks you.”

Max made a face. “He’s definitely gonna ask me.” She hesitated. “It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just… I’m not good at the girly shit. Not like Nancy, or even El. I mean, I wore corduroys to the Snow Ball.”

Steve sat down on the end of her bed, leaning back on his elbows. “Well, do you want to wear corduroys to the Lake Dance?”

Her eyebrows pulled together, considering. “I mean, it may be too warm for pants.”

“ _Max_.”

“I don’t know,” She hedged. “I guess it would be fun to try the girly crap once, and get it over with.” Which Steve had learned was Max-speak for “I want to dress up.”

He nodded in understanding. “Well, I fully support this new endeavor.” He stood up, reaching to pull the girl’s covers all the way up to her chin, leaving her to glare at him. “Make sure you’re free tomorrow afternoon.”

“Why?” She wiggled around, trying to free her arms. Steve was at the door, reaching for the light switch.

“I have a day off. It’s time for our scariest mission of all: Shopping.”

—-

“Lucas is so awkward.” Max slid into the passenger seat, tossing her backpack behind her.

“So he asked you to the dance?”

Snorting, the redhead rolled her eyes. “I think. He was stammering, but I heard the words ‘you’ ‘me’ and ‘dance’ so I think we’re good.”

Steve snickered. “You’ve been dating for almost six months and the boy’s still scared of you? He’s a keeper.”

Max hit him in the arm. “He’s not afraid of me!”

They bickered and chatted the rest of the way to the mall, just outside of Hawkins.

They approached the doors side by side.

“Ready if you are.”

“Max, if I don’t make it out alive… tell Dustin he was always my favorite.”

Max socked him in the shoulder and marched forward.

—-

“I like that one.” Steve pointed at her dress with his pretzel, watching as Max bunched the blue material with her fingers.

She made a face. “But it makes my hair look… redder.”

Leaning forward, Steve stage whispered to her, “Max, I hate to break it to you, but… your hair _is_ red.”

Mercifully, Max chose not to punch him again. “I’m sorry, I know this is taking forever.” Her voice was almost mournful, and she didn’t meet his eyes as she spoke, instead choosing to focus on a spot just above his head.

Steve waved his pretzel at her. “I’ve got a soft preztel, and snagged the best chair in the store. I’m great.” He really was- he especially enjoyed teasing her about her choices- and the one time she came out wearing the dress backwards.

She frowned, tugging at the dress. “I didn’t want to make you sit here forever. We can go- I don’t really want a dress.” She turned back for the dressing room.

“Hey, kid, _I_ dragged _you_ here. If you’re not having fun, we can split. I just figured we could get you a dress and hang out a bit. I know I haven’t been around as much since I started work.” He’d tried to talk Hop into giving him a schedule that coincided more closely with school hours, but Hop wouldn’t budge. Most calls came in after 3pm, which meant most paperwork was being filed (aka handed off to Steve) by 5. A vicious cycle.

Max met his gaze finally, offering a tiny curl of her lips. “I’m having fun. I just… I know this is your first day off in, like, weeks. Why are you wasting it with me?”

Steve made a pinched face. “Gee, you know what, why _am_ I wasting it?” He stuck his tongue out at her. “We’re here because you’re my favorite, dummy. We’re family, you and me. We do stuff together, like saving the world, or shopping for dresses. We cook together and yell at each other and short sheet each other’s beds like we’re supposed to.” Max looked like she was about to cry, so Steve quickly threw in: “And Nancy and Jonathan were busy this afternoon.”

This time she did punch him, but he caught her arm and pulled her in for a quick, tight hug. “Try on as many dresses as you want. As long as we stay here in the clearance section."

(They did not stay the clearance section, but Max never lost that emerald green dress, even years later.)

**Author's Note:**

> Are you rolling your eyes yet? (I just love my brother-sister dream team okay)


End file.
